It’s easy to lose sight of purpose. We are busy. We get distracted. Short term demands are more urgent that longer term purpose. Perhaps we’ve never articulated a purpose very clearly.
At other times, systemic short term demands overshadow true higher purpose. We see this play out in Congress – where, for many, the purpose of serving constituents and working with fellow representatives to create a strong, healthy and vibrant country gets totally overshadowed by lesser purposes: to get re-elected, to serve “their people” rather than the greater good, to set up a lucrative lobbying career.
While Washington is a highly visible and painful reminder of the results of operating with a loss of higher purpose, it is not the only place where the problem is endemic. A Gallop poll indicated that only 15% of employees in corporate America could articulate the purpose of their company or how their job contributed to it.
As a leader:
- Can you clearly articulate the purpose of your company? Your organizational unit? Your team?
- What are you doing to ensure clear line of sight and focused action toward that higher purpose?
- Do you have a deep sense of inner purpose? Does it show up every day?
